The world was caught off guard when UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka not only pulled out of his fight with Glover Teixeira, but relinquished his belt in the process. A number of awkward donimoes fell after that that eventually resulted in Jamahal Hill being the next champion while the former champion recovered from his shoulder injury.
Jiri, who is currently at the Performance Institute in Vegas getting some work in, sat down to discuss what the latest is on his shoulder.
“I’m working on it. Right now, the main target is to be in full range with that shoulder, to have activated all the muscles around the shoulder, and still building the best conditioning in the game,” Prochazka said.
While the road back has not been an easy one, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. With the progress that he’s made, Prochazka feels that he should be able top make it back to the cage a little bit ahead of the early schedules for his return. However, it also isn’t something that he’s willing to push.
“I like to be [back] this summer or the end of this summer. It doesn’t matter, I will watch how it goes – everything – and by that we can fight maybe earlier or maybe later,” he said. “But I think this summer is real to be ready and to be the champion.”
Although the timetable much shorter than the UFC brass and subsequent reports seemed to indicate, the Czech-native doesn’t regret how any of it went down. Whether it’s missing a rematch with Teixeira or not having an all-Euro title fight with Jan Blachowicz, he knows every comes together for a reason.
“There are no regrets. There are no regrets – I don’t regret nothing. Everything that I did was necessary,” Prochazka stated emphatically. “Everything has a reason, so I’m good with everything.”
As he progresses further through his rehabbing at the Performance Institute, Prochazka emphasized that his spirits, as always, are high. He looks forward to being champion again in the near future, but he’s also happy for the ride.
“I’m happy for how everything goes and is going right now,” Prochazka said. “Right now, I’m very happy.”
If you prefer the audio version of this interview, you can hear it below at 1:58.
